If you plan to import capital goods and services from the United States, this independent U.S. federal agency fills the gap in trade financing left by the private lending sector. Designed to improve the export potential for certain U.S. products and services, it provides working capital guarantees (pre-export financing) and export credit insurance to U.S. suppliers, and loan guarantees and direct loans to foreign buyers. The agency focuses primarily on the telecommunications, oil and gas, electricity, transportation, environmental, and manufacturing sectors.
Recently, it provided a loan guarantee of US$34.5 million to a major investor for the construction of a highway along the Dominican Republic’s eastern coast, which is a globally popular tourist destination, attracting up to 75% of the country’s visitors. Referenced as the Coral Highway (Autopista del Coral), this project involves a 70-kilometer corridor that completes a strategic link between the eastern city of La Romana and the luxury resort area of Punta Cana. Backed by this guarantee, the investor was able to secure more competitive term financing from lenders and tap into a new funding source. Representing Ex-Im Bank’s largest market in the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic offers investors export credit opportunities through this agency for U.S. goods and services used for their projects.
